The invention relates to granular material dispensing devices and, more particularly, to a rotary dispensing cap having a relatively rotatable disk portion which may be turned to a given position and manipulated in a simple manner to release a predetermined quantity of the material.
Various arrangements have been proposed for providing a dispenser in the closure cap of a jar or similar container filled with discrete granulated or powdered solids material, such as instant coffee or granulated sugar. Many of these heretofore devices include a cylindrical body having one end threaded for connection to the mouth of a standard-size jar or container so as to be readily attachable to the container holding the material to be ejected. However, the previously known dispenser cap devices are typically of complicated constructions having many working parts and are relatively expensive to produce. A further drawback with typical previously known devices is that their manipulation is cumbersome and awkward to the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,129,853 discloses a rotary dispensing apparatus arranged to be received as a cap closure on the threaded neck portion of a jar containing granular material. The dispenser includes a raised end cap member defining a hollow chamber positioned outward beyond the top of the jar. A circular plate formed with a cylindrical trap chamber is rotatable within the end cap chamber against the bias of a torsion spring to move a metered quantity of granular material from a receiving position in communication with the contents of the jar to a dispensing position communicating with a hole formed in the top surface of the end cap. U.S. Pat. No. 3,327,905 discloses a rotatable dispensing mechanism which fits into a hollow collecting chamber recessed in the lid surface of a granular material container. This dispenser includes a circular dispensing member mounted for rotation in the hollow chamber and formed with a trap chamber. The dispensing member has a stop formed on it outer surface which is received in an arcuate aperture formed in an external cover plate, such that the user may manipulate the stop to position the trap chamber at various angular positions in the hollow recess. The dispensing member has a first position for receiving a flow of granular material from the container, a second position for dispensing the predetermined quantity of collected material through an opening in the cover plate, and a third position communicating the interior of the container directly with a further opening in the cover plate so that the granular material may pour freely from the interior of the container through the trap chamber to the exterior of the container. Aside from being complicated constructions and hence expensive to produce, these typical known rotary dispensing devices require provision for hollow chamber spaces separate from the interior of the jar or container in which the material is collected in an enclosed trap area whereupon the trap material is passed to an ejection outlet.
The present invention is directed to a rotary dispensing device which serves as a cap closure for a jar or container, eliminating the need for forming a separate hollow space apart from the the interior of the jar or container. The invention is of a simplified construction, thus making it relatively inexpensive to produce, and which may be turned to a given position and manipulated in a simple manner to release a predetermined quantity of material.